Q-Notes T September 20,1997 ▼ PAGE 15
Literature
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inside hoUywood
by Miss Paige Turner
Special to Q-Notes
Vilanch dishes the Emmys
It seems that in the past year or so, you can
not turn around without seeing Bruce Vilanch.
He is a humor columnist for The Advocate,
writer on the biggest awards shows (Oscars,
Tonys and Emmys) and this year, the honoree
of choice at major gay functions. I ran into him
recently and asked him about the Emmys, his
upcoming projects and why he is suddenly ev
erywhere. “I guess gay people are beginning to
nodce this muppet in their midst,” Bruce stated.
“Of course, marrying Keanu Reeves on the re
bound probably upped my visibility quotient a
good deal.”
While he was not a writer on this year’s
Emmy awards show (hosted by Bjryant
Gumbel), he did have a few choice words to
say about it: “I’m not doing the Emmys this
year precisely because they are being hosted by
Bryant Gumbel. He doesn’t want to be funny
and I guess I’m just not reverential enough.”
Even though he isn’t working on the show, he
is still planning to watch it. Bruce was rooting
for Ellen DeGeneres to win an Emmy, but
added: “You never know. The actual award is
chosen by a ‘blue ribbon panel’ of mostly out-
of-work, bitter, resentful actors who show up
in a hotel room for a weekend to watch the
nominated videotapes. So who knows who the
hell they’ll vote for? If Rhea Perlman showed
up with food, they’d probably vote for her.”
Currently, Bruce is working on the Ameri
can version of the hit gay comedy from Ger
many Maybe, Maybe Not, as well as several up
coming benefits and award shows. And what
does Bruce do when he is not busy working?
“During sex I play a videotape of something
funny I wrote so I can get off and get a laugh at
the same time,” he joked. “I don’t think even
Milton Berle has thought of that one.”
Queer Confidential
If Susie Bright was right in the documen
tary The Celluloid Closet that gay people will
watch a movie just to see small crumbs of gay
life, then homos around the world will love the
new film noir LA., Confidential. The film has
so many crumbs that it could feed a family of
mice for a year. Aside from the casting, which
includes Russell Crowe {The Sum Of Us, Romper
Stomper), Guy Pearce {Priscilla, Queen Of The
Desert) and Kevin Spacey {Seven), there is also
a delicious gay sex scandal sub-plot involving a
handsome young actor and an impressionable
city official. Director Curtis Hanson has moved
up into the big time with this adaptation of the
gritty crime novel by James Ellroy. Hanson, who
previously directed The River Wild and The
Hand That Rocks The Cradle, has fashioned a
surprisingly good detective movie which ends
up being more than the sum of its queer crumbs
by the time the final credits roll.
Van Sant hits the books
Gus Van Sant, the acclaimed gay director of
My Own Private Idaho and To Die For, has em
barked on a new career: author. Not content
with the visual medium of film. Van Sant has
turned his attention to creating an eye-popping
new book entided Pink. With changing type-
Sc>
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Fast, Friendly and
Courteous Service
Printing • Typesetting • High
Speed Copying • Binding •
Notary Public • Invitations •
Laminating • Resumes •
Business Cards • Fuii Color
Copies • Rubber Stamps •
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1400 East Morehead Street
Charlotte, NC 28204
(704) 375-8349 / FAX (704) 342-1066
Mon-Fri 8:30-5:30 Sat 10:00-2:00
faces and even a flip cartoon to animate the
action. Pink is sure to cause a big stir when it is
released next month. Described as both a comic
deconstruction of modern culture and a genu
inely tender novel on the themes of love and
loss, readers can expect to find an unusual blend
of text and texture in the book’s visually arrest
ing pages. It’s no small coincidence that Van
Sant’s latest cinematic endeavor. Good Will
Hunting staxtmg Robin Williams, is scheduled
to be released around the same time. Not want
ing to miss a bit of the momentum of these
two simultaneous events. Pink's publisher. Ban
tam Doubleday Dell, is planning a marketing
strategy that is as unusual as the book itself.
Using something called a “Web Ring,” the pub
lisher plans to promote the book on the World
Wide Web by linking together several different
Internet sites. Each site will feamre pages about
Van Sant and his work, creating a funnel effect
to shutde fans into a circular frenzy of Van Sant
excitement. Included in the Ring is Van Sant’s
website. Bold Type (www.boldtype.com).
Geirmans rise again
Despite controversial pasts, two queer Ger
man icons, Marlene Dietrich and Douglas Sirk,
are finally being honored. A Berlin district has
voted to put Dietrich’s name on the map, choos
ing to name a square after the omnisexual screen
legend despite some residents’ resentment over
See HOLLYWOOD on page 23
THIS
WAS
TOSCA S
KISS.
by Brian D. Holcomb
Q-Notes Staff
First, a really im
portant television
note: God bless
Martha Stewart.
She knew we
couldn’t get enough
of her, so now she’s
on TV every day.
9:00am on CBS.
And now the
performing arts in
Charlotte. Which
you should do after you\c watched Martha.
Don’t miss Gypsy at Theatre Charlotte. Per
formances have begun and continue through
September 27. Tickets at (704) 334-9128.
The first major performance of the Char
lotte Symphony Orchestra season will be held
September 26 and 27. With the Oratorio Sing
ers of Charlotte, the CSO will present
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, as well as works
by Berlioz and Prokofiev. On almost
everybody’s “greatest hits” list, this is something
not to be missed. Tickets at (704) 332-6136.
North Carolina Dance Theatre begins its
season with “Jazz It Up,” in the Belk Theater
October 3 and 4. It is a combination of jazz
pieces and humorous works to classical music.
Works include Emerson Concerto, by Artistic
Director Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux to the music
of Keith Emerson; Who Cares?, by George
Balanchine to the music of George Gershwin;
as well as pieces to the music of Arkady Figlin
and Frederick Chopin. Tickets and informa
tion at (704) 372-1000.
Opera Carolina has quite a season planned
and the first show is only a month away. Tosca
will be performed at Charlotte’s NC
Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, October
16, 18 and 19. Because a Sunday matinee has
been added, you’ll probably be able to get tick
ets close to the show. Call (704)372-1000.
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church begins its sea
son of lunchtime concerts on October 7. The
first Tuesday of each month. Charlotte-area mu
sicians perform at the church, corner of 7th and
Tryon. Concerts are free and begin at 12:10.
There is an optional box lunch for $5. If you
work uptown, this is a great way to get a break
and enjoy some music. The October 7 concert
will be Trumpet and Organ music and feature
English composer Purcell, among others.
Tickets on sale: Charlotte Repertory
Theatre’s second production of the season be
gins October 8. The Old Settler is set in 1940s
Harlem and concerns two middle-aged black
women whose quiet lives are changed by a
handsome young man and his girlfriend. This
show was part of CRT’s 1996 New Plays Festi
val and has been well-received at other theaters
around the country. Runs through October 19.
Tickets: (704) 372-1000. T
ynpcm
\mlina
OCT 16 & 18 8PM
OCT. 19 2PM
Belk Theater
Sting in lUilian with English liwishitions
projtrtcd (ihovc the stage
Oieheslicil Aecompanimenl hy
The Chcirlottc Symphony
BY Giacomo Puccini
Tickets $12 - $52 Call 372-1000
Senior anil student discounts available
GROUP SALES 357-4722
www.operacarolina.com
There's still time to subscribe & save!
2 & 3- show packages available for
Tosca, Rigoletto.The Crucible
LM(R9